Posts belonging to Category Players

Top 1: Jason Pridie struck out swinging against Brandon Beachy

Top 3: struck out swinging against Beachy

Top 4: struck out swinging Beachy

Top 7: grounded out to second base against Eric O’Flaherty

Top 9: struck out swinging against Craig Kimbrel

Final Line: 0-for-5, 4 K

Notes: Pridie collected his first golden sombrero of the 2011 season – and first of his career – on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves.  Although the Mets won, he contributed absolutely nothing towards the win by fanning four times and committing an error in center.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 118

–  I am finally sold on Ian Kennedy.  Dude has won more games this year than he has in his entire big league career.  And after watching him strike out six in a row in the 7^th and 8^th innings last night, I just can’t ignore the impression it left upon me.  He is no Cy Young winner this year, in my opinion, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a strong argument for him.

–  With the Brew Crew signing Ryan Braun to the deal they did, the writing is basically on the wall for Prince Fielder to read.  And he has.  The thing of it is, I’m not sure the market for a $100 million first baseman is what people believe it to be.  Look at all the usual big spenders, and see that they all have their own pricey 1B’s already.  I’m just saying that the market for Fielder is much smaller than people might realize.

–  Is Brad Pitt not the most Ironic actor to portray Billy Beane in the upcoming movie Moneyball?  Seriously, you can’t help but chuckle at that.

–  Here is some neat trivia for you- Do you know who holds the highest era for a single season?  That’s right, it is Roy Halladay, who posted an atrocious 10.64 era for the 2000 season.  Now pick your chin up off the ground and continue reading. (Author’s note: Now Brian Matusz is the owner of this prestigious award; he is sporting an era of 10.68-congrats to you sir.)

–  What kind of baseball blogger would I be if I didn’t have a mention of Mariano Rivera and his record 602 saves in here?  I am still mesmerized by the fact that he has gotten every last one of those in pinstripes.

–  How about those St. Louis Cardinals?  They might actually pull off their own comeback and rip the wild card spot right out of the Braves hands.  After writing about the lack of tight races, the game of baseball is making me eat my words.

–  If you had to take one of these starting pitchers and run them out on the bump, whom would you rather have: John Lackey or A.J. Burnett?  Me, I’d rather let the mascot go out there and see what he can do…in his costume, too.

–  What a weekend for baseball.  The Rays were able to pull within 2 games of the Red Sox and the AL Wild Card spot. The best play of this series was started by David Price’s chest, though.

–  Justin Verlander is a beast.  12 consecutive starts, and 12 consecutive wins.  Not to mention he has now won 24 games this season.  But that’s the obvious.  Here are a few nifty stats for you sabr-minded folks:  Verlander has a WAR of 7.0-still a full 1.1 WAR behind Doc Hallady; Verlander has guys swinging at pitches out of the zone at a whopping rate (33.8%); He is also only throwing pitches in the strike zone 42% of the time while getting hitters to swing and miss at a rate of 10.2%.  Dude is filthier than the turds I leave in the toilet after a night of partying.

–  Apparently Dmitri Young is ready to play baseball again…I know, I didn’t believe it either.  It must be that whole older brother/younger brother rivalry thing. I can’t think of any other reason for a 40-year-old 1B to come out of retirement after four years.

–  Being a fantasy nerd, and at the same time absolutely loathing reality television, I am so thankful for Grantland’s GLRTFL.  It now gives me a new perspective on watching the hideous programming that my girlfriend prefers.

–  Speaking of fantasy, here is a quick rundown of how the Denslow Cup standings are looking heading in to the final week:

1. Asik and Destroy  ——————-139
2. The Clownpenis. Farts  ————-137
3. So Fresh n So Sheen Sheen  ——–118.5
4. Dingo Teriyaki  ———————–113
5. tits and giggles  ———————–100
6. The Nads  ——————————-97
7. Dingleberry Smoothies  ————–90.5
8. The Blump Cornelius  —————–78.5
9. Capital City Corporate Towls  ——-62
10. Quade Steak Burritos —————–57.5
11. The Religion of Mike Hunt  ———-55
12. Ardi’s A-holes   ————————-44

As you can see there is quite a race for the championship.  Fellow writer Barfy is the manager of Clownpenis. The battle for 3^rd is a good one too, with my team (Sheen Sheen) hoping to lock down its first podium finish ever.  Editor in Chief, Mike (The Nads), is actually losing to his girlfriend Julia (tits and giggles) but has an outside shot of overtaking her.

Top 1: Mike Stanton struck out swinging against Stephen Strasburg

Top 3: struck out swinging against Strasburg

Top 6: grounded out to shortstop against Strasburg

Top 9: struck out swinging against Drew Storen

Top 11: struck out swinging against Collin Balester

Top 13: doubled to left field against Balester

Final Line: 1-for-6, 2B, RBI, 4 K

Notes: Stanton’s golden sombrero on Saturday against the Washington Nationals was his second of the season.  Two of his four strikeouts came against Strasburg, who only struck out three over six innings.  With a chance for platinum in the 13^th inning, Stanton picked up his first hit of the game with a two-out, RBI-double that gave the Marlins a 4-1 lead.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 117

Top 2: John Jaso struck out swinging against Josh Beckett

Top 4: struck out swinging against Beckett

Top 6: called out on strikes against Beckett

Top 8: struck out swinging against Daniel Bard

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: While Jaso’s never been one to hit for a high average, he has always had a knack for getting on base – so much so that Joe Maddon has occasionally hit him leadoff.  In 2010, Jaso had a breakout year, as he played in 109 games and posted a .341 wOBA and 2.6 fWAR.  This season, however, the left-handed hitting catcher has posted a .291 wOBA and 0.4 fWAR over 86 games.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 116